


The River Hunter

by TzuChuuTrain



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, SaChaeng Mythical AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23629393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TzuChuuTrain/pseuds/TzuChuuTrain
Summary: There's a story running around the village. About a river spirit that seduces all that come near it. But no one knows its real name.
Relationships: Minatozaki Sana/Son Chaeyoung
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	The River Hunter

There's a story running around the village. About a river spirit that seduces all that come near it. A water demon, a hunter of lost travelers. It takes the poor soul in the water, drowning them and dragging them into the wild rushes. Some even claim its grasp reaches out to the sea. I could hardly believe whatever they say. They're here, in the safe confines of their homes, they never leave. How could they know?

It has a lot of names; mermaid, water nymph, rusalka. Among others.

But no one knows its real name.

The sky is dark as I walk on the path in the woods, the thick clouds sluggishly floating above me carrying gloom wherever they go. I walk in a pace I would describe as neither fast nor slow. I don't feel the need to rush, nor do I want to delay anything. As I step on, I remember my mother's words.

"Don't go to the riverside, dear." She said. "Especially near the wild rushes by the sea. The demon takes what it can, and don't let it be you."

I didn't listen to her the first time.

I don't usually leave the village. I don't have much reason to. Though my village is arguably joining the modern New World, there are still a lot who wander into the woods for game, or travelers who are lost, seeking villages or other merchants to trade with. I'm not one of them. All the jobs I had was within the village; newspaper girl, baker's assistant, maid.

But what I do for a living doesn't matter. I'm out here now.

As I carry on in my travel, leaving the man-made marble path behind, the cool woodland air caresses my face, my black hair flowing freely in the wind, as if the forest opens its arms to welcome me.

It'll take about an hour to reach the riverside. Enough time for the sky to darken even more, not dark enough to be called evening, but enough for the village's curfew to be in effect. I need this venture alone.

The walk gives me time to think of everything in my life and appreciate them all. To be surrounded by peaceful trees and cool wind under dark blue skies gives me a sense of love and life that I have never felt before. I have a family back in the village - a loving mother, a protecting father - and friends that I call true.

But I don't feel content, I still feel something's missing. And without that piece, I'm essentially empty.

When I kick on a loose rock ahead, I hear a rustling by the bushes in the corner of my eye. I grip my rifle in anticipation, and I remember my father's warning.

"This rifle is your life, Chaeyoung. Lose it, and you lose all of it." He said. "Should you be seduced by the demon, fight it in the most crucial moment, and your aim better be true."

A deer emerges from the bushes, and I aim at it carefully. The doe looks at me with brown, curious, soft eyes.

"You're not what I'm looking for." I say, lowering my rifle. I yell to scare the deer away, and I carry on towards the river.

The woods are damp and moist due to the storm that passed. Now it's just drizzles every now and then, soft and mellow but enough to wash away the lush color of the forest. Enough to wash away any second thoughts as I continue.

Time has passed, night has come and I could already hear the water flowing. It sounds rapid, the crisp and loud splashing of water on stones, logs, and soil; like a natural music instrument.

I urge my legs to walk faster, gripping my rifle tight in a fleeting sense of excitement. I'm nearing the river, at last. As I step on, the river comes into view. Despite its slightly dull gray color reflected from the dull darkening skies, I still find it majestic and beautiful. Pristine, clear, and crisp water, flowing deeply and endlessly into the sea.

I walk towards the shoreline and take a drink of the clear water. It is sweet, and cold, and satisfying. As my hand reaches the water a second time, I hear a voice call for me.

"Hello." She said, her voice sweet and flowing in the wind towards me, like calm river water. Warm and bold, her words reached my ears. I turn my head to the middle of the river and there I see figure floating, the water reaching up to her chest.

She's beautiful beyond compare. Her eyes are light, brown, and innocent, like the deer's before. But she is also mesmerizing. Her porcelain-like skin glistens, her nose sculpted to perfection, her hair long, ebony, and decorated with flowers. It seemed endless, as if her hair could measure the entire river itself, flowing with the water towards the rapids.

As I gaze upon her, glistening in water and under moonlight, I remember my mother's words.

"Don't go to the riverside, dear. Especially near the wild rushes by the sea. The demon takes what it can, and don't let it be you."

"Are you lost, little darling?" She says.

I was stunned to say the least. I couldn't move as if I was turned to stone. I could feel the water i cupped in my hand flow away back into river. My eyes can't seem to avoid her gaze.

"What brings you here?" She asks with a smile that reaches her eyes.

Do not answer, Chaeyoung. I thought.

"I've come to hunt." I reply.

"Oh, my." She says with an amused tone. "A hunter. Does the pretty hunter have a name?"

I resist the urge to answer. But it was futile.

"Chaeyoung." I answer, my voice slowly cracking in resistance and fear.

The creature smirks. "I'm Sana. Pleasure to meet you. What have you come to hunt?" She asks again.

"You."

"Oh." She pouts. "That's a shame. I find you extremely adorable, and might be good company. But if that's what you reslly want."

Suddenly I feel myself gaining control of my body. I hurriedly grab my rifle and point it at her.

I grip my rifle in fear, and I remember my father's warning.

"This rifle is your life, Chaeyoung. Lose it, you lose all of it. Should you be seduced by the demon, fight it in the most crucial moment, and your aim better be true."

Sana interrupts. "But is that really what you want?"

I stop. I feel my body stiffen up again, my finger now far from the rifle's trigger. Her voice is smooth and seductive, her dark eyes are beyond intoxicating, and her skin so tempting. I close my eyes to resist her gaze, but I can barely hold on to myself.

"What do you truly want most, Chaeyoung?" Sana softly asks.

Her words, her voice, her eyes - all combined makes the most powerful trap no mortal could ever replicate.

And I fell right to it. Deeply.

"Come closer, dear hunter." She requested with. "Don't worry, the water isn't that cold. It's actually really nice."

I open my eyes and I forget my parents entirely. I drop my rifle into the water, being quickly carried away by the river to the deeper ends.

Sana asks again. "What is it that you really want, dear little hunter?"

"You. I want you." I answer, my skin longing for hee touch. "I want you. I love you. I want you to love me, too."

"Come closer, Chaeyoung. I want to hear you better." Sana asks, her voice filling me up like moonlight.

Slowly I waded into the river, each step heavy and slowly. As I head towards Sana, I can feel the wster slowly embracing me. First, it reached my knees, then my chest, then my chin.

By that time, I am already floating and right in front of Sana. I'm so near her moonlit beauty. Her eyes are filled with stars and her hair so silky and soft. She smiles at me and says, "I love you, too, Chaeyoung. My dear river hunter."

Sana sways with the waves, a smile on her lips. "Kiss me, Chaeyoung."

And so I did. It is slow, and steady. The moment my lips joined hers tears flowed from my eyes. As if I have found what I've been missing my entire life. The love that I longed for, the touch that I craved. I found it all here in her.

Our lips parted, leaving me breathless.

"I love you." I whisper. I don't love her. But God, do I love her.

The wanting comes in waves. And I kiss her again.

"Sana, my river bride." I say as I gaze upon her serene face. Her eyes so somber, her touch so solemn.  
Her voice so soothing, and her lips so soft.

"My river hunter." She calls me. We kiss again, but this time, it is hungrier and deeper than before. Deeper than the river and the sea itself.

Her hand crawls on my skin and latches on to my neck to further deepen the kiss. My arms find her waist, and I cling to her as we float together in the middle of the river. I feel so full, so loved, so mesmerized. T

Then she pulls me deep into the water, her arms aggressively clutching on to my neck. My breath stops abruptly as she chokes me. Her eyes changes into something darker, a pair of pitch black pearls that seems to absorb all moonlight flowing in the water. Her soft, luscious lips turn into something rigid, her teeth turns into sharp serrated fangs, and her skin changes from smooth and white to scaly and green. Her hair - I realize - isn't exactly hair. It's an extension of her body and it coils around my entire body, like a python gripping on prey. With her true serpentine form revealed, her body pulls her towards where the river flows, pulling me beneath the waves.

I cry in pain, my chest burning in lack of air. As Sana pulls me deeper into the wild rushes nearing the open sea, she wails and panic fills up in my blood while being dragged in the riverbed. When our hellish descent to the open sea slows down, I can no longer see anything. The entire ocean is pitch black, and I am engulfed in water and fear.

Soon, I see Sana's scales glow a bright purple hue. Her eyes like empty moons, her hungry gaze staring deep down my soul. She gives me a kiss, giving me air as she does. I follow the glow of her entire body to see where it leads. It leads deeper to the ocean, and I notice that around me, creatures similar to Sana glow and descend to the depths. All of them dragging and pulling drowning people. Poor souls, like me. Foolish and trapped. And now will die.

Then, a giant violet glow emanated from below me. I look down to see a pair of gigantic, horrifying serpentine eyes. The glow from all the mermaids continuing down below until it reaches the head of this bigger creature.

The giant's form comes to full view in the void of the ocean. A massive serpent, a hellish leviathan, and Sana and the other mermaids are but extensions of its body, like tentacles of an octopus.

Sana kisses me again, for what I believe is the last time. She looks at me with her black hole eyes, and wails painfully as she drags me into the leviathan's giant mouth, opening up to swallow all of their catch of the night.

There was a story running around the village. About a river spirit that seduces all that come near it. A water demon, a hunter of lost travellers. It takes the poor soul in the water, drowning them and dragging them into the wild rushes. Some even claim its grasp reaches out to the sea. This I now believe to be true. 

It has a lot of names; mermaid, water nymph, rusalka. Among many others.

But I know her as Sana. 

I close my eyes, and Sana takes me whole. Forever.

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by the song "Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes" by The Decemberists
> 
> hope you guys like it! :^)


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